BALTIMORE, Md. - The 2012 cross country season began Friday for Towson University, as the Tigers finished in second place at the Baltimore Metro Meet. Johns Hopkins finished first with 17 points, while the Tigers tallied 50 points in the meet held at Oregon Ridge Park. Goucher College finished third with 101 points in the six-team field.
"This was a chance for our girls to get their feet wet," Towson head coach Roger Erricker said. "For all the girls who were running their first collegiate race, it's a building block. When we run back here in three weeks, we'll be able to see how much improvement we've made."
For the Tigers, a pair of sophomores led the charge as Elizabeth Tauber and Kara Bucaro each placed among the top 10 finishers.
Tauber, who Erricker believes should be at the top of the Tiger pecking order throughout the season, had a solid first meet, finishing with a time of 19:10.95. She finished in sixth place individually.
Not far behind was the sophomore co-captain Bucaro, who placed eighth with a time of 19:39.66.
"To be able to come and perform the way they did today, I don't think they would be satisfied," Erricker said of his sophomore standouts."But we haven't had a lot of work yet, and for the first meet, it was a good result for them."
Senior Hannah McKenzie finished 13th for Towson with a time of 20:08.19, while Emma Tobin (19th) and Ashley Simmons (23rd) each placed among the top 25 finishers.
Hannah Oneda of Johns Hopkins took home first place in 18:19.13, as the Blue Jays boasted the top four finishers individually.
In the men's race, Johns Hopkins took home the top 17 finishers. The Blue Jays were led by Max Robinson who had a winning time of 15:50.59. Hood College placed second, McDaniel College third and Coppin State fourth.
